Angel In The City: City Hunter Forever
by AskForXYZ
Summary: [Conclusion and Sequel to XYZ Strikes Again: Don't You Dare Touch The Kids!] An old friend spends a weekend with Ryo and Kaori, only to learn the most important lessons in her life. A look at Mr. and Mrs. Saeba through a reader's eyes; birthday present for YOU; one-shot. OC is a main character.


A/N: Happy Birthday,** YOU**! This story is my gift to **YOU** because I am limited in ways to send her a proper present. Nevertheless, I hope she likes it and that the other readers like it as well. For my fussy readers out there, OC is a main character. So, I dunno - BEWARE!

Disclaimer: I do not own **City Hunter** or its characters.

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**ANGEL IN THE CITY: CITY HUNTER FOREVER**

She was timid. She was naive. Everyone she knew patronised her. And she let them. On her train ride to big, bad Tokyo, she gave her seat to a pregnant lady and travelled 40 miles standing among a crowd. She was nice, there was no doubt about it, but kindness had its shortcomings. Not everyone she loved loved her back. Her heart had been pinched more than once but she carried a strong faith in that bruised heart – being the one who smiled first is better than being the one who never smiled back.

Men in her life were few, sparse. They treated her like a child, mostly as a secretary. She had to be pulled away from them before they broke her heart. There they were and then there was him. He who shouted her name from one end of the block to the other just to tell her he loved her. He forgot his own birthday but remembered the date when she had scraped her knee outside the office building. He was kind and thoughtful, but much of his thought went into making her and others laugh. She had been sitting at the office picnic by herself, making sandwiches for some colleague's kid, when he came by, picked her up and tossed her upon a pile of leaves. When she squeaked,  
"What the heck was that, Yuto?"  
He dropped next to her and said,  
"I dunno, Moe, the leaves looked lonely"  
She knew he had whisked her away from her maid duties at the picnic on purpose. His silly antics astounded her at times. She loved them though, every stupid bit of them.

Why was she thinking of him when he was fifty miles away? Why was she feeling guilty towards the only man who had ever made her happy? She had shunned him, that's why.  
"Moe, I hate it when you let people push you around", he had said.  
She smiled at the pigeons near their feet. He didn't understand. She said,  
"No one pushes me around"  
"They do. They treat you like a doormat and I hate that"  
"You are exaggerating"  
He raised his bushy brows,  
"Why did you go with Kieko-san to that jazz concert? You don't even like jazz"  
"Well, she wanted my company"  
"No. You wanted her company. You pretended to like jazz because you have this need to tailor yourself to other people. Be yourself, Moe, be yourself"  
"Don't be ridiculous. I am myself at all times"  
"I disagree, Queen of the Pigeons", he got up, "Anyway, the people from our Osaka branch will be here soon. Are you going to attend the meeting?"  
"Of course. It's mandatory"  
"Okay"  
A shadow fell over her lap. She looked up and their heads bumped together. He smiled and reached forward to kiss her. She felt her heart expand inside her chest as her throat went dry. The thumping noise her fall made scared the pigeons away. He sighed and gave her a hand. She took it and dusted her skirt. How his surprises scared her.  
"Just so you don't fall this time", he put a firm hand on her waist and leaned in for a kiss.  
She pushed him away with both hands. They couldn't move him away an inch but his face expressed the surprise of being shoved away by a bulldozer. She apologised,  
"Sorry. I-I am not ready for that yet"  
He didn't demand any explanation. Instead, he grabbed his coat from the bench and gave her a small salute.  
"See you later", he said.

Kaori was her best friend. She would know what to do. Right? They might have been separated after high school. She might have moved to another city with her parents but Kaori was still her best friend. They had kept in touch with each other through letters. Momo couldn't make it to Kaori's wedding nine years ago, because she was stationed with the Peace Corps in Cuba then. She had invited her to her wedding anniversary though. That's why she was on a one-day trip to Tokyo. When the time was right, when Kaori was free, she would tell her about Yuto. She would ask him how to cope with her insecurities about physical affection. Kaori would know; she had been married for nine years. Surely, she would know.

The train pulled into the Central Station, Tokyo with a loud, whirling noise. The doors opened and Momo Hara stepped out. The crowd here was so quick and... misty. They all seemed absorbed in their own world. No one noticed the girl-like woman in a pink shirt and grey skirt eyeing the platform. She didn't mind.  
"Taxi? Can you take me to this address, please? Thank you"  
The taxi which had picked her from outside the station took her to the given address without a hassle. The driver was a smooth one. His vehicle seemed to glide over the busy streets of Tokyo, giving Momo enough time to admire the surroundings. She asked him to keep the change of seventy-two yen. He tipped his golf-cap to her and drove away.

Was this where Kaori Makimura lived? Oh, she was Kaori Saeba now. Momo climbed the stairs inside the red building, good exercise, she thought. Kaori had told her that she lived on the top floor. There was only one apartment on each floor. Momo inspected the doorbell for three seconds before pressing it.  
_Triiing!_  
"Ryo, will you get the door, please?"  
It was Kaori's voice! A man's high pitched voice followed,  
"I am playing with the balloons!"  
"Get the door before I come out and kill you!"  
Timid Momo stepped away from the door and picked up her bag. Was Kaori talking to her servant like that?  
The door opened and Momo stood still. A good-looking man was holding the door open. He scanned her with his eyes from top to bottom. She asked in her very polite manner,  
"Hello. Do the Saebas live here?"  
"Who is asking?"  
"I am Momo Hara, Kaori Ma... I mean, Kaori Saeba's friend"  
"Hm", he said, "Come back later. I am having sex with your friend"  
Poor Momo didn't have anything to say again. She was aware of the heat emanating from her cheeks. How could that man say something like that to a complete stranger?  
**WHAM!**  
Momo clutched her bag to her chest and saw the man drop to the floor with a giant mallet lodged over his skull. The woman behind him was heaving and flaring her nostrils,  
"Is that a way to greet the guests?!"  
"Kaori?"  
That was Kaori! She almost didn't recognise her!  
"Momo-chan! I am so glad you made it!"  
Kaori walked over the man and hugged her friend. She asked,  
"God, it's been so long!"  
Momo hugged her back,  
"Way too long!"  
Kaori drew back with a big smile on her face and said,  
"You haven't changed a bit"  
Momo smiled,  
"You have. Long hair, feminine clothes, and as if it were possible, you look prettier!"  
"Stop it, you", Kaori laughed and pulled her inside.  
Momo apologised to the man they walked over,  
"Sorry"

Kaori brought her to the living room couch and made her sit. She said,  
"Give me just a minute. I have to check on the flan for today evening. Let me introduce you to my husband first. Ryo, get up"  
The man from earlier shook off the dust from around him and walked to the couch. Wasn't his face disfigured just a moment ago?  
He gave Momo a hand,  
"My name is Ryo Saeba. Nice to meet you"  
Momo made an effort to smile properly,  
"Ah, nice to meet you too, Saeba-san"  
Kaori said,  
"Great! I will be back in a while during which if my husband bothers you the slightest bit, feel free to chop his fingers off"  
"Uh... okay?"  
What had become of Kaori? And what kind of a husband was this guy, who was looking at Momo's skirt so studiously?

Kaori's house was really nice. It was clean and tidy, a Kaori hallmark. Momo wiped her hands against the towel and walked out of the bathroom. When she was on the second flight of stairs, she heard Kaori scolding Saeba-san again.  
"I had told you twice, reminded you thrice to get the paper towels! When will you start listening to me, Ryo?!"  
Momo watched from the stairs. Saeba-san was nodding,  
"Hm, hm. Spank me. That's the only way I will learn"  
"You..."  
A 10,000 ton hammer appeared in Kaori's hands which she threw away after seeing Momo. She smiled,  
"Ah-ha-ha! Momo, you have freshened up. Would you like to have lunch?"  
"Thank you but I am not hungry. I ate some soy nuggets in the train"  
Saeba-san turned around with an amusing expression on his face,  
"Oooh, soy! Soy is very good for women, Momo-chan. It is good for your health, your breast size and your ... ouch"  
Kaori had whacked him with another hammer. She told him,  
"No need to play a dietician here. Go, get the kids from school. And don't forget the paper towels!"  
"Hai"  
Saeba-san gathered himself up from the floor and staggered out of the door. Momo gave a quick smile to Kaori. Was it wise to hope for romantic advice from Lady Hulk's Japanese version?

Kaori's kids were adorable, especially, her son. He was well-mannered, polite and quite thoughtful for a seven-year old. Momo had sat next to him for lunch. He even helped his mother with the preparations for the evening. Anyone who knew Kaori's brother could tell that her son had taken after his uncle. It was sad, what had happened to her brother. Momo had heard it from a friend. He had died in a car accident when Kaori was just twenty.  
"Aunt Momo, do you want to play with me?", Kaori's daughter asked.  
"I would love to", Momo said, "What are we playing, Hidemi-chan?"  
The little girl arranged her toys in a row and said,  
"Chop-head-lord. The one who chops more heads off wins!"  
"Uh... aha, is that so?"  
Hidemi smiled,  
"Yep! And you have to make the dying sounds. Max always makes the dying sounds. Like _ewurr_! _Hrrrch_!"  
"Oh", Momo asked, "Who's Max?"  
Kaori told on walking out of the kitchen,  
"Max is their friend. He is in the same class as Yukio"  
"Auntie", Hidemi said, "Let's play now! Look – chop, chop, chop! _Yaaeek_!"

The Saebas were a weird lot. A husband who makes perverted advances towards his wife every thirty minutes, a wife who beats the shite out of her husband without batting an eye, a boy who is too wise for his age and a five-year old girl who makes her toys fight to death with special sound effects – alien, almost. Momo was helping Kaori in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.  
"I will get it", she said.  
Kaori stopped her,  
"Don't bother. Ryo will"  
Kaori had been busy the whole day, even more after her kids came home. But they were alone and Momo thought it was the right time. She said,  
"Kaori?"  
"Yes?"  
"I need your advice on something"  
"Sure. What is it?"  
"It's about Yuto"  
Kaori nudged her,  
"Aha. Your handsome colleague, huh?"  
Momo blushed,  
"Yes. We have been dating for the past few months"  
"That's great!"  
"Yeah", she said, "But, uh, something happened"  
"Is everything alright?", Kaori asked over the noise of the sizzling sauce.  
"Yeah. No, uh, I... I just wanted to ask you how you got over your fear of being intimate"  
Kaori smiled,  
"Oh. Well, that was nine years ago"  
"Haven't you and Saeba-san been together for fourteen years?"  
"We were partners for five years, then Ryo proposed and we got married"  
"So you saved yourself till marriage, right?"  
Technically, that was what Momo was doing. Kaori shook her head,  
"No. Who-who does that? Ha!"  
Momo kept quiet. Kaori said, wiping a drop of sweat and her fake grin,  
"Ryo and I never decided on something like that. We were engaged and... we had our first _mokkori_ within a week"  
"_Mokkori_?"  
Kaori sighed. She said,  
"Sorry. I have lived fourteen years with that guy. This was bound to happen someday. What I was saying was that the more you control these things, the more complicated they get. You just have to let it happen"  
"But isn't fornication unethical?"  
"I thought so for a long time", Kaori smiled, "Ryo used to say 'Chastity is overrated'. He was right. It's your body. Why should you let ancient societal norms dictate your life?"  
"But..."  
Kaori turned to her friend. She said,  
"Take the first step, Moe. You will never know how beautiful something can be until you take a chance on it"  
"But what if it doesn't work out?"  
"How will you know unless you give it a try?"  
Sound advice. Momo lost touch with reality for few following moments.

Evening arrived and so did the guests. Kaori greeted them warmly and introduced everyone to Momo. There were no acquaintances to be made among themselves though, Momo noticed. She eyed those stranger faces with curiosity. There was a guy with glasses and a pretty girl who seemed to be his girlfriend. There was the tall, scary man with his wife, son and the baby. There were the two middle-aged sisters. Kaori had introduced Momo to all of them. That friend circle was unique. What could have possibly bound so many different people together?  
Yukio was conversing with the boy near the couch. Kaori had prohibited Momo from helping her, so she sat on the couch and made small talk with the few guests. She heard Yukio say,  
"I made it just yesterday. It took me four hours!"  
Max, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ijuin, was excited,  
"Sweet! Can I see it?"  
"Of course, I have been waiting for you to see it"  
Hidemi sprinted into the drawing room after her mother had dressed her in a lovely green dress. She tugged at Max's hand,  
"Max, Max! Play Ninja Lord with me! Come!"  
He said to her,  
"Not now. I have to see Yukio's model town"  
She asserted,  
"No! You are playing with me! Come on"  
Yukio began,  
"But Hidemi-chan..."  
She stuck out her tongue at Yukio and pulled Max by the hand,  
"Come on! Play with me!"  
Max gave up,  
"Okay. But just for 300 seconds, then I will go and see Yukio's model city. Agree?"  
"Three hundred seconds? Wow! Yes, yes!"  
Yukio and Max grinned at each other and followed Hidemi into the kids' room. Kaori said to Mrs. Ijuin,  
"_Ara_. Look at them – Hidemi always wants Max all to herself"  
Just then, Saeba-san entered the drawing room with a tray of drinks, wearing a very unflattering apron and headscarf. He served the drinks to everyone with a cheery grin and asked,  
"What's the topic of discussion today, ladies? Are you talking about how much uglier this baldy looks surrounded by so much beauty?"  
Mr. Ijuin put his foot before Saeba-san at that insult, but the latter served the drinks without tripping. He took one for himself and stood next to Kaori. Miki-san said,  
"We were just saying how fond Hidemi is of Max. Maybe they will get married when they grow up"  
"_Phuurrrr!_"  
"_Phuurrrr! Phurrrr!_"  
Saeba-san and Ijuin-san both spat their drinks out in the air. Ijuin-san was choking while Saeba-san coughed. He said,  
"That's, _ach_, way too early to think about that"  
Kaori rolled her eyes, patted her coughing husband's back and took him upstairs to dress up. Momo observed everyone quietly.

"Wahoo!"  
They clapped and cheered as Saeba-san and Kaori cut the cake.  
"Ahem", Kaori said and the gathering grew silent, "Ryo and me want to thank all of you for coming here. We decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary properly this year because of something which happened a few months ago, most of you know what. I am..."  
Saeba-san interrupted her,  
"Yeah, yeah. Thank you for coming. Go home straight after dinner. My wife said she's going to give me our anniversary present after everyone's gone and the kids are asleep"  
They all laughed while Kaori elbowed her husband in the ribs. Hidemi asked,  
"What gift, Mama?"  
"It's nothing special, honey. I, uh, I will tell you later", her mother said.  
She turned to her husband again and said in a low volume,  
"You are the most shameless person I have ever known"  
Momo saw Saeba-san put an arm around Kaori. He smiled,  
"But you love me anyway"  
Kaori smiled too,  
"That I do"  
Momo's own simper was a result of the amorous little banter she had just witnessed. Two different personalities had fused together nine years ago to form an elegy of love. It was a touching sight to see a couple so madly in love even after fourteen years of being together.

What did she learn from the peculiar Saeba family? She wrote on her notepad as was her habit:  
_'Saeba-san and Kaori have a love which cannot be understood by someone with a weak perception. They fight, they annoy each other and they are both from different worlds. Yet what I saw was love at its best. From opposite ends of the room, they could decipher from each other's eyes what their better half was saying. They never hold back their affection. If Saeba-san's love is a rush of jolly summer heat, Kaori's love for him is the gentle wind keeping the heat from getting out of control. My blessings and thanks to this wonderful couple who invited me to be a part of their life for that wonderful weekend.  
-Momo'_

The train slowed down on entering the station. Momo put her notepad and pen inside her bag and walked to the doors. She felt different, as if a new Momo had returned from Tokyo. There was music in her ears and a yearning in her heart. Could two people teach someone all they needed to learn about love in just two days?  
"Moe! Here!"  
There he was. Momo saw him, her spirits seemed renewed and she didn't waste another minute. In his arms she jumped and rejoiced. _'Take that first step'_, Kaori had said. It felt like the best first step she had ever taken.  
"Whoa, lady. I am waiting for my girlfriend here. Who are you?", he joked.  
She hesitated first, but then held his face in her hands and said,  
"I am Momo. And I love you"  
So a good kiss really feels like you are melting against someone's lips - Momo confirmed that. Yuto returned her nervous kiss with tenderness and a smile. Momo drew back. She wouldn't look at his face; hers was warm as summer.  
"What happened to you?", he asked in wonder.  
She told,  
"I learned about love... from the most unlikely source"  
"Remind me to buy a memorandum of that source. I am going to worship it for the rest of my life"  
"Of course", she laughed and brushed those thick little locks away from his forehead, "Carry me home?"  
He nodded,  
"Your wish is my commando"  
She grinned,  
"It's command, silly"  
"Really? Commando makes more sense, doesn't it? Like I am carrying you in my arms and not giving a shit that everyone's staring. That makes me cool like a Commando, right?"

There is an unusual couple in Tokyo. They have two children – Yukio and Hidemi. If you ever happen to visit the Saeba Building, take a peek into the drawing room window on the topmost floor. You will in all probability see a red-haired woman chasing a man around the house with a giant hammer. Don't let them fool you. What they have is what keeps the stars apart. It is the wonder of love. And I hope you are wonder-struck someday, like Ryo and Kaori Saeba. Indeed, City Hunter forever.

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Post Script: All those who have and still read my **City Hunter** fanfiction stories – here, bathe in my overflowing gratitude! Your feedback and love has encouraged me as an amateur writer to someday become a _good_ writer. It is much appreciated. This is the last story in my current **City Hunter** fanfiction series which started with **Confession Of A Sweeper: Jealousy Always Works**. For some months, I am going to take a break from writing fanfiction to concentrate on my other ventures. However, this isn't the last you have seen of _AskForXYZ_. I am not ashamed to boast that I have two most unique **City Hunter** fanfiction stories planned for you when I return. Until then, get wild and tough! And say with me: CITY HUNTER FOREVER! _*cheesy much?*_

Regards,  
**AskForXYZ**.


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